Sole fitting machine



Aug. 28, 1934. F. E. BERTRAND 1,971,475

SOLE FITTING MACHINE Filed July 22, 1932 Fig.1.

Patented Aug. 28, 1934 sous FITTING MACHINE Frederic E. Bertrand, Lynn, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application July 22, 1932, Serial Nonsense 7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in sole fitting machines and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine designed especially for channeling so-called orthopedic insoles.

Insoles for use in certain types of arch supporting shoes are made with lateral extensions or wings at the inside shank portions of the insoles or at both the inside and outside shank portions of the insoles and the extensions or wings of such insoles are turned upwardly and molded into conformity with the side or sides of the last to afford support for the instep arch of the foot. In channeling an insole having a wing extension of this sort (such insoles being herein after referred to as orthopedic insoles), the channeling cuts of course must not follow the outline of the wing or extension but should cut across the base of the wing along lines which will be parallel to the outline of the bottom of the last for the shoe in which the insole is to be incorporated. A channeling machine as ordinarily constructed is provided with an edge gage and as the sole is fed past the channeling knives the operator keeps the sole edge in contact with the edge gage so that-the channels will be cut parallel to the sole edge. It will be seen that such machines are not adapted, without alteration or modification, for use in channeling orthopedic insoles.

In View of the foregoing, one object of the present invention is to provide a sole fitting machine with improved gage mechanism adapting the machine for use in fitting orthopedic insoles, or other soles wherein it may be de sired to perform sole fitting operations along lines which are not parallel to the sole edge.

' With this object in view, one feature of the invention consists in the provision, in combination with sole fitting means, of means for supporting an insole and feeding it to the sole'fitting means, an upwardly yieldable gage normally positioned to guide the sole by engagement with the sole edge while operations are being performed in one locality on the sole, and means on the gage constructedand arranged to cooperate with the edge of the sole to raise the gage into a position for cooperation with a portion of the sole other than the sole edge in guiding the sole while operations are being performed in another locality on the sole. As herein exemplified in a machine for channeling orthopedic insoles, means is provided for supporting an insole and feeding it to the sole fitting means, andthe gage normally oc cupies an operative position wherein it is adapted to determine the location of a channel or edge G1. new) slit by engagement with the edge of the sole while the channel or slit is being out along a portion of the sole margin having a normal edge contour, but is adapted to be raised from this normal position by the action of the sole extension as the latter is moved into contact with the gage,

to. establish a shoulderat the junction of the .wing and body portions the contour of which corresponds tothat of the normal inside line of the shank of a sole. The illustrated edge gage is especially designed for use in connection with orthopedic insoles of this particular type, the

construction and arrangement of the gage being such that the gage will be cammed upwardly by the passage of the wing beneath it as the sole is being fed past the gage with the result that the gage will ride over the upper surface of the wing with its guiding face in contact with the shoulder above referred to so thatthe gage will continue positively to guide'the sole and to insure that the channel will be cut parallel to the, shoulder as is desired. In some orthopedic insoles, however,

the surface of the wing at the shank portion of the insole is continuous withthe surface of the body portion of the insole at both the fiesh and grain sides of the insole, there being no shoulder or step defining the junction of the wing with the body portion, and in such insoles it is preferable to draw a guide line upon the flesh side of the insole to indicate a normal shank outline (such a line being conveniently made, for example, by marking along the edge of a sole pattern placed upon the insole), and manually toguide the marked sole while operating along the base of the extension so as to maintain the guide line .on the sole in alinement with the guiding face of theraised edge gage.

The invention further consists in features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the

advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. w v

The invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a plan view of so much of achannel- 'ing machine as isnecessary to illustrate the application of the present invention thereto, the machine being shown in operation upon an orthopedic insole;

Fig. 2 is a view in end elevation and on an enlarged scale of the improved edge gage mechanism;

Fig.8 is a perspective view of the edge gage;

Fig. 4 is a conventional view illustrating the relation of the improved edge gage to an insole while operating along the forepart thereof; and

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are conventional views illustrating the relation of the improved edge gage to an orthopedic insole while the wing portion of the sole is being operated upon.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, the invention is therein shown as embodied in a channeling machine of a type commonly employed for forming what are known commercially as Economy Insoles, a machine of that type being disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 984,773, granted February 21, 1911, upon application of W. C. Meyer. The illustrated machine comprises a rotary work supporting table 10, a channeling knife 12 for cutting obliquely into the substance of an inole toward the sole edge to form a channel and an inner lip, an edge slitting knife 14 for cutting inwardly from the edge of the insole in a plane parallel to the face of the sole to form an outer lip and a feather, a presser gage 16 to limit the depth to which the knives enter the work, and a four-motion feed foot 18 which engages the upper surface of the insole and feeds the sole margin step-by-step past the knives. The parts above referred to are constructed, arranged and operated substantially as shown and described in the above-mentioned Letters Patent No. 984,773, and reference may be had to said patent for details of construction and operation not herein fully set forth.

The illustrated machine is further provided with an improved edge gage 20 which functions in a manner similar to that of the edge gage disclosed in the above-mentioned patent to gage the relation of the channel and lip cuts to the sole edge while the machine is operating along those portions of the sole margin which are of normal outline but which is capable of being displaced from its normal operative position to enable it to function also in gaging the location of the channel and lip cuts during the channeling along the base of the wing or extension of an orthopedic insole.

The illustrated edge gage 20 as best shown in Fig. 3 comprises a bar 24 having an end :face 26 and a thin lip 28 projecting from the upper portion of the end face 26, the portion of the face 26 below the lip 28 being adapted to engage the edge of a sole while the lip 28 is adapted to overlie the upper face of the sole. As shown, the bar 24 is beveled or rounded at its lower side to provide a cam face 30 which slopes upwardly and rearwardly with respect to the direction of work feed and is adapted to function in a manner hereinafter to be described. The lip 28 is similarly beveled or rounded on its under surface to facilitate the feeding of the work beneath it. The bar 24 is provided with an upstanding rectangular shank or stem 32 which is secured by means of a screw 34 to a carrier 36 which is mounted with provision for a limited amount of tilting movement about a horizontal axis to permit the edge gage to be displaced upwardly from a normal operative position. 'For this purpose, the carrier 36 is formed with a stud 38 which extends through and is adapted to turn within a bearing sleeve 40 formed on a slide 42 which is dovetailed to move within a horizontal slideway 44 in a bracket 46 that is bolted to a portion 48 of the frame 50 of the machine. The stud 38 extends beyond the bearing sleeve 40 and a spring 52 coiled about the stud 38 tends to rotate the carrier 36 in a direction to hold the lip 28 of the edge gage in yielding contact with the upper surface of an insole on the work table 10 and thus to locate the gage face 26 in the plane of the sole and to limit movement of the carrier 36 under the infiuence of the spring 52, the spring for this purpose being secured at one end to the bearing sleeve and at the opposite end to a collar 54 on the stud 38. As shown in Fig. 1, the collar 54 is capable of being turned on the stud 38 and is provided with a series of radial ratchet teeth 56 on one side arranged to engage corresponding ratchet teeth formed on the side of a second collar 58 which is pinned to the end of the stud 38. The spring 52 serves to maintain engagement of the ratchet teeth on the collar 54 with the teeth on the collar 58 and the arrangement is such that by turning the collar 54 on the stud 38 the tension of the spring 52 may be adjusted to vary the pressure with which the lip 28 of the edge gage is held against the work. A stop screw '72 threaded through a lug '74 on the carrier 36 and held in adjusted position thereon 11 by means of a lock nut 76 engages an arm '28 on the bearing sleeve 40, to limit the downward movement of the edge gage under the influence of the spring 52 and to prevent it from pressing against the work table 10 when there is no sole upon the table.

The edge gage 20 is adapted to be shifted transversely to the direction of work feed to vary the distance between the channel cuts and the edge of the sole as is customary in channeling machines of this character. For this purpose rack teeth so on the slide 42 are engaged by the teeth of a gear segment 62 formed at one end of a lever 64 which is pivoted at 66 to a bracket 68 secured to the frame 50. The lever 64 is arranged to be moved by operative connections between the lever and a handle '70, the construction, arrangement and mode of operation of the above-mentioned mechanism for shifting the edge gage being substantially the same as corresponding mechanism disclosed in the Meyer patent above referred to.

In Fig. l the machine is illustrated as operating upon an orthopedic insole A having an arch supporting wing or extension B at the inside only of the shank portion of the sole. The channeling operation is commenced as usual at the outside portion of the shank only at the heel end. As shown in Fig. 5, the wing B is thinner than the body of the insole and the junction of the lip with the body portion is defined by a vertical shoulder C which follows the normal inside shank line of the insole. The channeling knife .12 cuts obliquely into the substance of the insole to form a channel D and an inner lip E while the edge slitting knife 14 cuts inwardly from the edge of the insole to form an outer lip IF and a feather G. As the insole is being channeled, the edge gage 20 functions to determine the distance between the inner and outer lips and the edge of the sole and, if desired, the handle 70 may be operated to shift the edge gage transversely of the direction of work feed while the sole is being fed to vary the spacing of the lips from the sole edge.

In the use of the machine, when the channeling has progressed to the point I-I near the forward end of the inside shank portion of the insole, the edge of the wing that is curved abrupt- 1y outward from the adjacent portion of the sole edge, which is of normal contour, engages the beveled cam face 30 on the under side of the edge gage and, as the sole continues to be moved past the knives, the edge of the wing B rides beneath the edge gage and acts upon the cam face 30 to displace the edge gage upwardly, the edge gage carrier 36 tilting slightly about the pivot stud 38 against the action of the spring 52. This enables the end face 26 of the edge gage to continue positively to guide the sole by engagement with the shoulder C so that the channeling will proceed along the base of the wing in directions parallel to the shoulder and consequently parallel to the normal inside shank line of the insole. If, as shown in Fig. 6, the wing B is sufficiently thin, it may pass beneath the edge gage without raising the latter in which case the end face of the gage will follow along the line of the shoulder C without any upward tilting of the gage. If, as shown in Fig. 7, the wing B is of full thickness of the insole where it adjoins the body portion of the latter, so that no shoulder is formed between the wing and the body portion of the insole, the edge gage will be forced upwardly by the passage of the wing beneath it to allow the channeling to proceed along the base portion of the wing instead of following along the edge of the wing. Since there is no shoulder between the wing and the body portion of the insole, the edge gage will not function as a positive means for guiding the sole at this point. It is practicable, however, for the operator to guide the sole accurately during this portion of the channeling operation by gaging visually the relation of the end face 26 of the edge gage to a line previously drawn upon the flesh side of the insole to define the normal shank line of the insole. Such a line may be so located as to correspond with the shoulder C upon a shouldered insole and may be conveniently made by marking along the edge of a sole pattern placed upon the sole prior to the channeling operation.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A sole fitting machine comprising sole fitting means, means for supporting an insole and feeding it to the sole fitting means, and a displaceable gage normally positioned for guiding the insole by engagement with the sole edge, while operating along a line parallel to the sole edge, and a cam face on said gage constructed and arranged to cooperate with the sole edge to displace the gage into a position out of the plane of the sole while operations are being performed along a line not parallel to the sole edge.

2. A sole fitting machine comprising sole fitting means, means for supporting an insole and feeding it to the sole fitting means, an upwardly yieldable gage normally positioned to guide the sole by engagement with the sole edge, while operations are being performed upon one portion of the sole, and means on the gage constructed and arranged to cooperate with the sole edge to raise the gage into a position for cooperation with a portion of the sole other than the sole edge in guiding the sole, while operations are being performed upon another portion thereof.

3. A machine for forming lips in insoles having lateral arch-supporting extensions, comprisinglip-forming means, means for supporting an insole, means for feeding the insole to advance its margin progressively past the lip-forming means, a gage having a cam face thereon adapted to cooperate with the edge of a sole to displace the gage from one position for guiding the sole while the lip-forming operation is being performed along marginal portions of normal edge contour to another position wherein the gage is adapted for use in guiding the insole while the lip-forming operation is progressing along the base of said extension, a spring tending to move said gage toward said supporting means, and means on said gage constructed and arranged to engage the face of the insole to limit movement of the gage under the influence of said spring.

4. A sole fitting machine comprising sole fitting means, means for supporting an insole and feeding it to the sole fitting means, an edge gage having a face adapted to guide a sole by engagement with the sole edge, a lip on the edge gage for overlying the face of the sole, and yielding means for pressing said lip against the face of the sole.

5. A sole fitting machine comprising sole fitting means, means for supporting an insole and feeding it to the sole fitting means, an edge gage having a face adapted to guide a sole by engagement with the sole edge, a lip on the edge gage for overlying the face of the sole, yielding means for pressing the lip of the edge gage against the 1 5 face of the sole, and a cam face on the edge gage adapted to cooperate with a portion of the sole edge fed beneath said face to effect upward yielding displacement of the edge gage.

6. A sole fitting machine comprising sole fitting means, means for supporting an insole and feeding it to the sole fitting means, an edge gage having a face adapted to guide a sole by engagement with the sole edge, a lip on the edge gage for overlying the face of the sole, a spring tend- 5 ing to move the edge gage downwardly to hold the lip in yielding contact with the sole, and means for adjusting the tension of the spring.

7. A sole fitting machine comprising sole fitting means, means for supporting an insole and. feeding it to the sole fitting means, an edge gage having a face adapted to guide a sole by engagement with the sole edge, a spring tending to hold the edge gage in operative position, and a lip on the edge gage for engaging the insole to limit the movement of the gage under the influence of the spring, said lip having its insole engaging face rounded to facilitate feeding of the insole.

FREDERIC E. BERTRAND. 

